NEW YORK — Federal lawmakers are dragging their heels on urgently needed safety upgrades to Penn Station’s antiquated railroad tunnels, despite the growing threat of terrorism since Sept. 11, The New York Post has learned.
An estimated $900 million in federal aid is needed to fix safety problems in the half-dozen tunnels beneath the Hudson and East rivers, which are used by more than 350,000 passengers daily.
But the only help that’s come from Washington since the World Trade Center terror strikes has been a $77 million Defense Department grant to help Amtrak modernize its tunnels.
A railway safety bill that includes $998 million for the Penn Station tunnels and two tunnels in Washington and Baltimore, has languished in the Senate since being approved by the Commerce Committee in October.
“There’s no question that [the tunnels] present a potential problem,” said state Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Nassau).
Skelos said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the Long Island Rail Road, is willing to contribute $126 million to help pay for East River tunnel upgrades if the feds pay their share.
“Unfortunately, this tends to get caught up in Washington politics,” he said. He added that the $77 million allocation was a “mini-step.”
Since 1976, about $160 million has been spent on safety upgrades for the tunnels but these have been aimed at preventing fires or accidents, not on protecting passengers should a disaster occur. “These investments may be effective in preparing for known risks, but it is unlikely that these efforts would have been satisfactory in responding to a terrorist attack,” Department of Transportation Inspector General Kenneth Mead complained earlier this year.
Among the most glaring problems with Amtrak’s New York tunnels:
* Emergency stairwells, only 27 inches wide and descending 10 stories, are far too narrow and steep to allow passengers to escape or let firefighters down.
* Ventilation systems cannot remove enough smoke or pump in enough fresh air in the event of a fire or explosion.
* Walkways along the tunnel walls that could be used by escapees during an emergency are crumbling and dangerous.
* The 2.5-mile tunnels don’t have enough fire stanchions. “It would be nice to believe that our rail system will never be the target for terrorists, but this is naive,” said Sen. Tom Capers (D-Del.), who has pushed several funding proposals.
Other than the Penn Station tubes, all the other tunnels in the city have either been built to meet modern safety standards or have been upgraded.
During the 1980s, the Port Authority shelled out nearly $1 billion to retrofit its PATH tunnels with fire-safety equipment and new emergency stairways.
While clamoring for the emergency funding, Amtrak officials have downplayed the risk to passengers. Officials say the rusting spiral staircases – one at each end of the six tunnels – would be used only as an escape route of last resort.